Once again, we had a jam packed week of mostly cool news for the now Mazda Road to Indy program. Yes, I said MAZDA. They’re now the official title sponsor of the program, and they bring some other benefits as well. However, I say mostly cool news because there was one downer for the week. Dan Andersen’s racing operations via Andersen Racing will cease in 2011. Andersen Racing had fielded entries in both the Star Mazda Championship and the Firestone Indy Lights series. Andersen will still run the US F2000…
Read MoreAuthor: Doug Patterson
Motorsports enthusiast since ...well... always. Grew up watching Mario and AJ, took my first lap around IMS in the tour bus in 1977, fell in love with anything that went fast.
Currently, I work as a professor of astronomy and physics at a college in the suburbs of Kansas City, http://staff.jccc.edu/dpatter/, and own a photography business, Patterson Prints, with my wife. http://www.pattersonprints.com/
Road to Indy – Mazda Sponsors the Road to Indy Program
Yes, you read the title right! The Road to Indy program now has a title sponsor, Mazda. Late last off-season, INDYCAR put the final pieces together for a four-tier development system which clearly marked out a path for young open-wheel drivers to the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. The US F2000 National Championship presented by Cooper Tires and powered by Mazda was the last element to come into place. Dan Andersen of Andersen Racing revived the old F2000-based series with sanction from INDYCAR. Drivers would then graduate to the Star Mazda…
Read MoreRoad to Indy – Veach Returns to USF2000 for Andretti
While I can’t say that it comes as a surprise, it is good to hear the official confirmation. Zach Veach, the young Ohioan who joined the team at the last minute last year after the Atlantics Championship dissolved, has resigned with Andretti Autosport for 2011 to run in the US F2000 National Championship with sponsorship from Zakosi Data Backup. “I’m very excited to have the opportunity to work with this great team and be a part of the ‘Road To Indy’ program again next year. I can’t describe what an…
Read MoreF1 – Will the Real Lotus Please Stand Up
Well, its now official. The rumors had been out there for a while, and we even tried to make some sort of sense of them back a few weeks ago on our podcast. Group Lotus has purchased, with the assistance of Genii Capital, a share in the Renault F1 team. During the 2011 season, the team will be known as Lotus Renault GP and will sport the black and gold livery that Mr. Fernandez’s Lotus F1 Racing had previously announced that its team would be using. The partnership between Lotus…
Read MoreIndyCar – Panther Secures an American Driver
I don’t have much in the way of details here, but I was so excited that I couldn’t wait. Al Unser, Jr., announced the good news via twitter this evening that the 2009 Firestone Indy Lights champion, J.R. Hildebrand, will be piloting the #4 National Guard car for Panther Racing. Hi Everyone! JR Hildebrand is in the car for Panther. He tested all day and did a GREAT JOB! He is going to be one too watch in 2011!!! — Al Unser, Jr. via Twitter. This is fantastic! Ever since…
Read MoreGaming – Grand Turismo 5: First Impressions
As listeners of our podcast know, I am a big fan of the Grand Turismo series, and that I’ve also been very frustrated with the multiple delays of the release of GT5. Well, it is finally out! The game hit the shelves on November 24th, and yes, I ran out and got it that same day! So was it worth all the wait and extra development time? I’m not sure, but that’s not to say that GT5 isn’t a great game. Its just that I’m not sure the extra wait…
Read MoreRally – Ford’s Farewell to the WRC Focus
This is precisely why I bought my Ford Focus ZX3 SES. I live on a gravel road, and there’s nothing more therapeutic at the end of a long day than channeling my inner Colin McRae! It’s also why the county maintenance people hate me. ]:)
Read MoreRoad to Indy – Weekly Wrap-up 11/29-12/3
Given the blossoming of weekly features we’ve seen here at OpenPaddock.net with Spike’s Indy Hump Day Report, and Shaun’s Sunday Service Park, I’ve decided to join in the fun. Every Friday (or Saturday morning) I will try to have a wrap-up of the weeks headlines from the Road to Indy. There’s been a lot of things happening so far this off-season, which is rather surprising given that a lot of driver/team combinations typically aren’t agreed upon in most ladder series until a month or so before the beginning of the…
Read MoreGarage 36 – Episode 2: Pippa Mann
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | Download Welcome to our second episode of Garage 36, a segment devoted to covering Indy Downforce, the official fan club of the IZOD IndyCar Series, Firestone Indy Lights, and the Road to Indy. In this episode, we talk with the driver voted “Most Popular Driver” from the Firestone Indy Lights Seres, Pippa Mann. Pippa has been very active with the fan club throughout this year, even on weekends when she wasn’t able to be in the car, she was at the Indy Fan Zone…
Read More